Let Me Google That For You
This is a long-overdue much requested article and thanks to a little pressure from my friend Lynn B. Friedman over at Zillow, I’m finally getting this written and published today. How to create the “Automatic Google Search” for anything you want, and how to add or install in on your websites or blogs.
I’ll break it down into 3 easy steps to simplify the process:
First: You have to understand how this works. There is a website that was created called LMGTFY.com which is simply an acronym for “Let Me Google That For You.” This site allows you to type in any search words or terms, then it automatically creates a custom url or web address link that you can apply to any words or images on your site or blog.
THE POINT OF IT ALL:
When someone clicks on the word(s) or image on your site, they are taken to the Google Results page for the exact search terms or word you’ve previously selected for them. Let me break it down for you….
For this sample/tutorial, I am going to use my name as the “Google Search Term” and provide you with screen shots that walk you through the process.
Step One: Go To lmgtfy.com and type in your keyword or key phrase search:
Step two: Click “Google Search Button” to create the URL/Custom Link.
Step Three: Copy the custom URL/Link which will be used as the link to your image/words.
Use “CTRL+C” to copy the code which will be linked to either an image or keywords later.
Note: If you click on the “tinyurl” button, it just creates a shorter URL/WEB address…
If you click on the “GO” button, it will actually go do the search for you….
FINAL STEP: Decide now if you want the custom link/URL you just created to link to an image or to some text. (This is called hyper-linking) I’m going to go ahead and show you how to do both.
Find the image of choice and place it in the location on the page or sidebar where you want the automatic search to take place. I’m going to first use a “Text Link” to demonstrate hyper-linking: Use the “Linking” tool found on most sites to create these links to text or images. Just click on the chain, paste the URL code we created and copied earlier and save.
Here’s a Text-Link Example: Want To See More About What I Can Do For YOU On The Web? Google Me Here (Go ahead and click on the link to see how the LMGTFY works)
Now I’ll Hyper-link to an image below so you can see it do the same thing:
Note: You can use ANY image or text to create these links, it’s your choice.
Try it! Click on the image below and watch what happens… Very Cool!
One Last Tip: When creating your own Google custom search for your page, blog, or website, be sure to use keywords, phrases, and terms that show YOU at the top of the Google search results page. Also make sure to use terms and keywords that your clients and prospects might be using to find you, your information, or the content you’re wanting to deliver. ie: Seattle Homes For Sale, Top Agent in Tacoma, WA, Moving With Kids and Pets etc.
Be sure to check your search words or terms to make sure you’re at the top of the results page. If in doubt, do as I have, and just use your name! Happy Googling 🙂
Lynn B. Friedman, REALTOR, CDPE